Guava BBQ Chicken Wings

Deliciously crispy, baked chicken wings tossed in an easy-to-make, homemade, tangy, smoky, sweet guava bbq sauce.

There’s no question that I love wings. I’m definitely a wings and beer girl through and through. On this blog, you’ll find mojo chicken wings, lemon pepper wings, and garlic parm wings. Well, guess what we’re adding to the list? GUAVA BBQ CHICKEN WINGS! Rejoice!

To know me is to know that I’m obsessed with all things guava. I grew up loving the fruit and all its marmalades, jams, and guava paste. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about here. Allow me to explain.

What is Guava?

Guava is a tropical fruit that is oval in shape with a rough light green skin. Their insides are a light pink color and they taste a little sour-sweet. There are several varieties of guava fruits but the most common one taste like a mix between a strawberry and a lemon. Sounds weird, right? It’s so unique though. Don’t knock it til you try it!

Now because of the fruit’s high pectin content, you’re able to make guava jams, guava marmalade, and guava paste from the fruit. Guava paste is essentially like a fruit leather made by cooking the guava fruit and sugar until it becomes a very thick [delicious] paste. While the jams and marmalade are more drippy, the guava paste is thick and sticky, but still soft enough to slice. While you’ll usually see guava being used in sweet recipes, today we’re using it to make WINGS.

How To Make Guava BBQ Sauce From Scratch

First things first, we have to make the guava bbq sauce. This isn’t hard to make. You just need a few ingredients and a saucepan. You can definitely make this bbq sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an air-tight container for 2-3 weeks.

This bbq sauce is super easy to make using common ingredients you can find in any grocery store. Personally, I am not a fan of using ketchup in bbq recipes so you will not see that here. The guava paste has enough sugar to make this bbq sauce sweet and tangy!

In a small saucepan, add the guava paste (I like the Conchita brand), apple cider vinegar, spiced rum, tomato paste, lime juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, garlic, and water. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, turn down to low heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer to a jar. That’s it!

How To Make Guava BBQ Chicken Wings

First things first, make sure to remove the tips and separate the drumettes from the flats. This means 10 whole wings are actually 20 pieces (10 drumettes / 10 flats).

Add the wings to a bowl with fresh lime juice and cuban seasoning while you preheat the oven. You don’t have to leave them marinating too long.

Set a wire rack on top of a lined baking sheet. This allows air to circulate around the wings and fat to drip off which will result in the wings cooking evenly and getting extra crispy.

Make sure to spray the wire rack so the chicken wings don’t stick while cooking. Pat the wings dry and transfer them to the baking sheet.

How long to bake chicken wings

I typically bake chicken wings at 425 degrees F for 35-45 minutes. Since not all ovens are the same, I’d keep an eye on them.

If at the 35-minute mark, they are not fully cooked yet, cook for 5-10 minutes longer. The internal temperature of the wings should be 165 degrees F.

Can I use the air fryer to make chicken wings?

Yes! Yes, you can. Depending on the type of air fryer you have, I’d recommend you follow the chicken setting for your air fryer.

For my air fryer (I have this one), I set it on 360 degrees which is the chicken setting on that particular machine and cook the wings for 20 minutes. I then turn up the heat to 400 degrees for an additional 5 minutes.

Don’t forget to spray the bottom of the basket with cooking spray and space out the wings. You will have to do it in batches but they come out crispy and delicious!

Once the chicken wings are cooked, brush on the delicious guava bbq sauce and place them back in the oven for 5 minutes until the glaze is glossy and caramelized. I like to add even more guava bbq sauce once they are out of the oven. Hehe. #obsessed.

Can’t wait for you to make them!

This post was originally published in June 2016. Updated photos and retested the recipe in January 2020.

You may also like:

• Guava BBQ sauce
• Guava Coconut Lime Margarita
• Pastelitos de Guayaba + Queso (Guava Cheese Pastries!)
• Guava Basil Moscow Mule
• White Chocolate Guava Magic Cookie Bars

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